Holobiont:
A holobiont is any agglomeration of a host, microbiome, virome, and other related organisms that each function together as a whole. [ScienceABC]
“Each” seems superfluous, even confusing.
Noted in “This book is a great insight into the new science of microchimerism,” Helen Thomson, review of Lise Barnéoud’s Hidden Guests, NewScientist (8 November 2025, paywall):
This fascinating idea – that we are a holobiont, composed not only of human cells and microbes but also fragments of others – and its implications sit at the heart of Hidden Guests: Migrating cells and how the new science of microchimerism is redefining human identity by Lise Barnéoud.
Barnéoud traces not only the serendipitous discovery of these microchimeric cells, but also how their interpretation has been shaped by culture and politics. The notion that fragments of parents, siblings and even fetuses embed themselves within our bodies and brains can stimulate wide-ranging feelings.
